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We know little about these drugs, and therefore often treat them with caution. Is it worth resorting to them? How to use them and stop taking them in time? We asked experts to answer these questions.
“I live in constant tension: I worry about my child, I get nervous at work, I worry about the health of my parents, I call them several times a day,” admits 36-year-old Lyudmila. – Because of this painful condition, my blood pressure often jumps, my heart aches, my hands tremble. Any little thing can make me cry. A friend recently asked me why I don’t take antidepressants. But it seems to me that if the drugs make it easier, then it will be some kind of fake relief. I always believed that a person should cope with himself. ”
Many of us are familiar with these symptoms of constant anxiety, but we tend to be reluctant to go to the doctor’s office and find it difficult to take medication. The counter-arguments sound very different: “I am not sick in order to be seriously treated”; “I don’t want to poison myself with any chemicals”; “I can do it that way – it just takes time” … So is it worth using medicines to give peace to the soul?
Past reputation
“Experiencing anxiety, many do not dare to seek help from a psychiatrist,” says Vladimir Rayushkin, a leading researcher at the Center for Mental Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. – our compatriots remember too well the punitive psychiatry of the Soviet era. Then all the professionals whose specialization begins with the root “psycho” were compromised: a neuropsychiatrist, a psychologist, a psychotherapist.” Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to decide on taking medications.
A large group of drugs that help a person relieve tension, anxiety, improve mood and generally reduce suffering, are combined into a group with the general name “psychotropic drugs”. But few people know that “psycho” comes from the Greek word “psyche”, that is, “soul”; and “tropos” in translation means “turn”, “direction”. This is the name of medicines that help the soul turn in the right direction. Fearing doctors and medicines, to some extent we are afraid of our very soul, we do not dare to meet it, look into it and help it.
Find relief
“I don’t want to help myself with pills,” says 30-year-old Pavel. “To start drinking them means to admit oneself sick, to admit one’s defeat.” “Living in the modern world, it is difficult to remain an absolutely healthy person,” says physician Wanda Yakutik. Many of us live in a state of chronic stress for years. The huge flow of information, the rhythm and dangers of a big city, where even the simplest action – for example, to cross the street – requires a certain amount of tension – all this destabilizes the functioning of the nervous system and leads to an increase in anxiety. Between complete mental health and illness is the widest area of borderline disorders – increased anxiety is one of them. A person suffering from it lives at the cost of enormous efforts: he feels bad, but overcomes himself.
Of course, rest, doing what you love, delicious food or just the opportunity to sleep off can help restore strength, cope with emotions. But this is not always the case. “In the life of almost every person, there may come a moment when it will be very difficult for him to manage without additional help,” continues Vladimir Rayushkin. “It’s worth working with such a disorder of well-being: medications taken in accordance with the exact prescription of a doctor can bring relief.”
Adjust mechanism
“I don’t believe that pills can help with nervousness,” says 42-year-old Sergei. “It’s like aspirin: you bring down the temperature, but you don’t eliminate either the disease or its cause.” “In modern medicine, there are several areas of medical work,” explains Vanda Yakutik. – It is possible to treat the cause of the disease when it is known; symptoms – if it is not clear what caused them; and mechanisms when we are unable to influence the cause. To help a person who finds it difficult to cope with a state of anxiety means, with the help of drugs, to influence the mechanism of his experiences.
Correct Reception
Once the decision is made, it is important to follow the intended course of treatment. “Improving well-being does not mean recovery,” comments Vladimir Rayushkin. “Abrupt interruption of a course of treatment, designed for several months, most often leads to the resumption of symptoms with even greater force.”
Some don’t stop taking medication because they’re getting better. Consciously or not, these people feel guilty about helping themselves with “drugs.” And some are particularly sensitive to the side effects of treatment.
As many psychiatrists say, there is a real “art of prescribing.” And if the drug is not suitable (a person hardly experiences a side effect, improvement does not occur within the indicated period), the doctor corrects the appointment. Specialists especially warn against prolonged uncontrolled use of drugs: it can lead to a state of drug dependence, to which psychological dependence is often added.
Constant contact
Much depends on the mood of the person who asked for help. In order for it to be truly effective, there must be trust between the patient and the doctor, who is able to listen, explain the details of the treatment, and listen to doubts. The decision to stop the treatment is always taken together with a specialist, and the dosage is gradually reduced also under his supervision.
Its way
Different groups of drugs are able to reduce the state of anxiety, to extinguish fear, but are not able to change its cause. By helping to cope with acute feelings, they give us a breather – we get a chance to sort out our own feelings. Therefore, it is useful to combine treatment with psychotherapy, which helps to “learn how to swim” and more boldly let go of the “lifebuoy”. Do not forget about other good ways to stimulate your own internal resources: massage, yoga, various types of creativity, thanks to which anxiety can get a completely different, creative expression.
Modern medicines can help and calm our feelings of anxiety, although no one has yet invented a drug that would bring absolute happiness to people. You should not look for a miraculous way to get rid of all problems – whether it be pharmaceuticals or “natural” methods. It is important to listen to your feelings and work with them using the means that are right for us.
Homeopathy: Other Possibilities
One of the alternatives to medical treatment of nervous disorders is homeopathy. First, homeopathic remedies are non-toxic and non-addictive. “Drugs for the treatment of psycho-emotional disorders are prepared using a special technology that uses such high degrees of dilution that the content of the active substance in them tends to zero,” says homeopathic doctor Elena Tarayan. “A homeopathic remedy is a catalyst for the process, it forces the body to release the natural substances it produces that are blocked by depression, without participating in metabolism and without interfering with the work of the brain.” Secondly, homeopathic doctors consider a person as a whole: they combine different symptoms into a common picture, choosing a medicine, they are always guided by the psychological characteristics of the patient. Homeopathic treatment for anxiety will be effective, but will require time, patience, and a willingness to abide by some restrictions.
Irina Shuvalova